


Rosegold Diamonds

by HaroThar



Series: She-ra but with Quadrants [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Background Bow/Glimmer, Background Relationships, Caretaking, Cuddling, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Humans with Quadrants, Hurt/Comfort, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Shoosh-Papping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21589750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaroThar/pseuds/HaroThar
Summary: After a particularly difficult defeat, the Rebellion needs the recharge and regroup. Bow and Perfuma take the chance to soothe and center each other, finding their balance once again.
Relationships: Bow & Perfuma (She-Ra)
Series: She-ra but with Quadrants [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567906
Comments: 5
Kudos: 13





	Rosegold Diamonds

**Author's Note:**

> AU where everything is the same except Quadrants exist in-verse

The rebels were tired. Demoralized. The recent battled had… not gone well, to say the least. They were fortunate that casualties were as low as they were, but they’d not only failed to secure the city of Attaman, but they’d lost the township of Sinclet in the ensuing retreat and pursuit. They were lucky Scorpia and Entrapta were once again with the Rebellion, their massive strength and technological prowess saving the rebels from further loss, but the failure of this last fight was hitting everyone hard.

“Anything else?” Glimmer asked the room, high ceiling of the war council and regal portraits of the old Princess Alliance only serving to make them feel even smaller, in light of recent events.

“I think that about sums it up,” Mermista said bitterly, arms crossed over her chest, eye twitching with irritation each time Netossa popped and clicked the bottle of lotion she was using on Spinnerella’s burn marks.

“Good. Now that we’ve debriefed, we can start planning what we’ll do next. We’re getting Sinclet back, and then we _will_ take Attaman,” Glimmer said with determination, rising to her feet with hands splayed on the war table. Mermista let out a loud groan, which mostly drowned up the rising protestations from the rest of the group, plus Adora’s counter that Glimmer was right.

“Alright,” Bow half-shouted as he stood, his left leg aching with a bruise that’d last for a while, “Alright, everyone deep breath! Glimmer,” he said, turning to her and leveling an open palm in her direction, ” I love you so much; no. Adora,” he leveled his other palm at her, “before you say anything, also no. You’re worse about pushing yourself than Glimmer is; you’re the least qualified to weigh in here.”

Bow addressed the room as a whole. “Everyone, the discussion on what to do will need to happen soon. The Horde has a history of pushing the advantage, they’re not going to wait for us. Glimmer and Adora are right. But we’re all in no shape to do that at the current moment. Everyone here needs to go get water, or juice, and a lot of it. Following immediately after that should be food, and a nap,” Bow glanced at Adora, “Provided you’re capable of taking one. Make sure all your wounds are tended to, and if you have a diamond, go to them. We’ll reconvene in, what,” he turned fully towards Glimmer, deferring to her judgement, “four hours?”

Glimmer took a deep breath, and gave Bow a warm, tired smile. “Better make it five.”

Bow smiled back, and walked over to pull Adora and Glimmer into a best friend squad hug.

“If you two discuss future battle plans while you’re supposed to be in a pile I’m going to knock you out with my trick arrows,” Bow playfully threatened, and Glimmer and Adora both laughed.

Then he turned to Perfuma, and felt the tension in his shoulders bleed out just from looking at her. He went to where she was seated, her damaged ankle keeping her sitting when normally she would have walked to meet him halfway. She smiled at him, tense and tight, with anxious eyes, but the effort she was making meant more than the smile did. She always tried her best to stay positive, and Bow knew how hard that could be.

“Hey,” he said, lifting his hand to caress her face, fingertips brushing at her hairline and pushing back a lock of dawn-bleached gold that had come loose from her flower crown during the battle.

“Hey,” she said, voice small and high as she leaned into his palm, eyes slipping closed. 

“Let’s get you somewhere quiet,” Bow said warmly, bending down and lifting her princess-style from her chair. The noise and motion of the war room wasn’t doing Perfuma’s already-frayed nerves any favors, Bow knew.

“You don’t have to,” Perfuma protested weakly, her long arms folding around his shoulders and neck, head resting on top of his from the simple fact of how tall she was. “I know your leg hurts too.”

“Not as bad as yours does,” Bow said, side-stepping so Scorpia and Sea Hawk could pass them, “And you like being carried, so shush.”

Perfuma giggled weakly, but then sighed.

“I know,” Bow said softly, “I know; it’s hard.” Bow did not stride down the halls of the Bright Moon castle, but he didn’t exactly take a meandering pace. He walked directly to one of the spare rooms that was no longer spare. Although Bow technically lived in Bright Moon’s city with the other rebels, being engaged to Glimmer came with perks. One particular perk was having his own room in the castle that he could do whatever he wanted with.

The curtains were already half-drawn when they entered, and Bow could feel Perfuma sag in his arms when the door shut out the noise of the castle behind them. “You good, diamond flower?” Bow asked as he settled her down on the low-couch, pretty much all of the cushions from Adora’s old bed having migrated here. It was a full, respectable pile in its own right, but Bow went and got the thin, old patchwork blanket from the bottom shelf anyway.

“I just--” Perfuma’s voice was high and cracked on the word, digging the heel of her palm into her eye.

“Heeey, hey,” Bow soothed, tucking the blanket in around her waist, leaving her arms free but successfully cocooning her. “Deep breath, Perfuma,” Bow ordered, gentle and firm, giving her a solid pat on the cheek.

She did, and then fell into her meditative pattern. In four, hold seven, out eight. Bow was as familiar with the pattern, now, as he was with his own arrows. He kissed her forehead, right above the green jewel of her crown, and went over to the cabinet where he kept spare water bottles, raisins, peanut butter, and dried wafers. Plus a bowl to catch the crumbs, since he didn’t exactly want to have to shake out alllllll the pillows, just yet. Catching himself, he went to the door and locked it, now that he didn’t have two arms full of princess. He didn’t really feel like getting caught palm to cheek.

“Water first,” he directed, unscrewing the bottle cap and handing one over to her.

“Thanks,” she said, sounding a little more centered but still close to the brink of tears. “Sorry you have to baby me.”

Bow took a decorative heart-shaped pillow, about the size of two fists, and bopped her on the head with it. “Hey now, that’s not very constructive.”

Perfuma snorted, but bowed her head. “You’re right.” She took a moment, then smiled at him. “Thank you, for taking care of me. I feel weak and hurting and small, and it’s good to know you’re watching out for me.”

Bow smiled back, pressing his palm to her freckled face. “Always. And it’s my pleasure to take care of you; you’re precious to me.”

Perfuma leaned into his hand and sighed again, a little softer, ever so slightly gentled down. “You need to be taken care of too, Bow. You’re precious to me also,” she said, opening her eyes to smile at him.

He kissed her cheek and opened the sleeve of wafers. “And I appreciate that, but it’s my turn to be the fussy one, okay? That’s my job. So let me fuss. I do the worrying here,” he said, half playful and half meaning it. “Besides, I’m a little more used to this kind of thing than you are,” he said as he scooped some peanut butter on and pressed raisins in. “I’ve been in the Rebellion for a few years now; I’ve been around the losing-battles-block a time or two.”

Perfuma bit into the cracker miserably. “There were so many of us there, and princesses! If we couldn’t win like that, how can we--”

“Easy,” Bow said, papping her face and reaching out to hold the back of her head, right beneath the large pink blooms, making her look at him. “Easy, Perfuma, easy diamond mine. We had a rough day, but we’ll turn it around. We couldn’t win the fight today, but we can win again tomorrow. War is all about victory and defeat; all we need to do is make sure we win more than we lose, and we’ll win the war eventually. Even if we have a bad day. A really, really bad day.”

Perfuma handed Bow a wafer with peanut butter and raisins and he took it while she mulled over his words. She kept preparing crackers, focused on the simple task, and Bow gently checked over her ankle. Just a twist, not a sprain or break. Thank goodness. He tucked her foot back underneath the blanket and ate another wafer when she handed it to him. 

“You’re right,” she groaned with a big gust of air, “Of course you’re right, and I know that. It’s just. It’s hard not to be. To be frustrated!” Perfuma brought a fist down on a nearby pillow, and then lifted it to her chest and hugged it. “I-- I’m sorry, I just. I know it’ll all work out in the end and I’m really, really trying to be connected to the vast circle of ebb and flow that dictates the energies of our universe, but it’s really hard to be zen right now and I--” her voice cracked hard and she choked on a quiet sob.

“Perfuma,” Bow said gently, cupping her cheeks in both hands and kneeling on the cushions next to her, “you try _so hard,”_ he thumbed at a tear that came loose, feeling the wobbling of her stubborn chin in the heels of his palms, “You try so hard to keep a positive attitude, and I know how difficult that can be, but it’s okay. I’m here for you, you can let out your frustrations on me. I’ll be the one keeping a rational head about the ebb and flow of the universe, okay? You be mad and scared for a little while, I’ll bring you back down. Lay it all on me, pinkest lover, I can be the brick wall for you to rail against.”

Perfuma let out a raw, loud sob, and lurched into Bow’s chest. He clutched her close to him, fingers buried in her hair and arm wrapped tightly around her slender back.

“I _hate_ this!” she sobbed, and he murmured a wordless agreement, “I hate feeling so _weak_ and _helpless!_ We’re supposed to be the ones who protect other Etherians from feeling this way and I just feel so useless!”

“I know, I know,” Bow murmured into her hairline, spokes of her crown threatening to dig into the soft underside of his jaw if he wasn’t careful. But he was always careful, with Perfuma, so, so careful with his precious diamond, “Failures like these can be really hard to swallow. I’ve felt helpless plenty of times.” He slowly turned and kissed her hair, then decided to get rid of the crown for a little while. 

“But you’re not useless, Perfuma, no matter how today makes you feel,” he said as he gently pulled away and lifted her crown from her hair, looking her right in the eye as he spoke, “and you’re far from helpless. You’re brave, and strong, and kind, and your heart goes out to every single person you’ve ever met. I can’t say enough how much strength it takes for you to love so hard and so much.” Bow brushed away her tears, calloused palms gentle on her warm skin. “And it makes it hurt more, when you can’t protect someone. So times like these are gonna suck.” 

Perfuma chuckled ruefully. “It sucks,” she agreed with a watery chuckle. “It sucks so much.” 

“But it also makes you fight harder than so many others, because you value each life that you’re protecting. And I know that in a few hours, you’ll be back on your feet and ready to go again.”

Bow pulled her back into a hug, feeling his own heavy heart setting down it’s weight as her arms wrapped around him once again. He held her as she cried, petting her hair through her hiccups and murmuring soft reassurances here and there. Even without her crown, she smelled of the flowers she wore.

When she seemed to have wound down, just occasional sniffles here and there, Bow pulled back and sat down fully, knees relieved despite the cushions littering the low couch. “There’s my blooming diamond,” he said fondly, hand slipping out of her hair and onto her cheek.

She sniffed again with a wet laugh, wiping at her eye with the hand not on Bow’s waist. “I’m, I’m back. I’m feeling better.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I needed that, thank you.”

“Anytime. Please drink some more water and finish eating now,” Bow nagged gently, and Perfuma giggled and kissed his other cheek. 

“You eat too, mister! Don’t think I didn’t notice,” she said as she nudged another water bottle his direction. 

“Fair, fair. Fair enough,” he said, lifting a wafer from the bowl she’d prepared earlier. When the crackers were gone and the bottles emptied, Perfuma flopped back with a bone-deep sigh and an arm thrown over her eyes. Bow felt that.

“If you roll over I can brush your hair,” Bow offered, and Perfuma lifted her arm enough to crack an eye open at him.

“My Bow…” Perfuma crooned, lifting that arm all the way and placing her slender palm against his cheek. A pleasant shiver ran down his back and arms. “My golden diamond. You take such good care of me.”

Perfuma grew a thin net of clematis vines around Bow’s back and tugged him down, and he let himself be tugged. He rested his head against her shoulder and felt her long arm drape over his back. One arm was squished beneath him and between them, but the other he rested overtop her belly, old fabric of the thin blanket beneath his skin. She gently pet over his close-shorn hair and nuzzled her cheek into his brow. “You take such good care of everyone, Bow. Making sure we all stay safe, and hydrated, and rested. You bring out the best in all of us.”

“I--”

“Shush,” she hushed with a quick pap against his cheek, “No arguing with me when I’m right. You work so hard, Bow, I can see how hard you try, all the effort you put into your relationships and the people around you. I know you like to worry, but for now, you don’t worry about anyone other than me, okay?”

Perfuma kissed his hairline. “Don’t you worry your clever little head about anything but this, anyone but me,” she murmured. “And would you look at that,” she said, a playful lilt to her voice that made Bow’s soul spark and dance, “Looks like there’s nothing for you to worry about. You’ve taken _such_ good care of me,” she praised, and Bow turned his face into the skin of her neck, cheeks and ears heating up. 

“Perfuma...”

“You have,” she insisted, thumb and fingers hooking around his ear, fingertips brushing the hair at the nape of his neck and the exposed skin there. “Just look what you’ve done for me. You’re so prepared, with your water and food, and you held me just like I needed and got me centered and at peace again. Without you I’d be meditating for an hour at least, after all this. See how much good you’ve done for me?”

“Perfuma!” Bow squeaked weakly, embarrassed but wanting, wanting her to continue, wanting the praise she gave him. 

“Precious diamond,” Perfuma answered, rubbing slow, lazy strokes up and down his back. “You try so hard,” Perfuma praised, “You try so hard, and we all are so much better for it. _I_ am so much better for it.”

Bow could feel the vines shifting, pulling the blanket untucked from Perfuma and dragging it over him to cover them both. “I know you need to fuss. I know you’ve got a giving heart and warm and ready hands. You’ve taken such good care of me, precious Bow, now let me take care of you.”

With her palm on his cheek and her arm lightly anchoring him against her, he was helpless to do anything but agree. He let himself table his concerns for anything that wasn’t right there, right in that room, and settled, bone-weary, into his diamond lover’s sweet embrace. She pet his hair and back, murmuring a long line of praise into his hair and skin. They drifted off together that way, exhausted but calm, settled down in each other’s presence and warmth. 

When Bow woke to the need to pee and a particularly chatty bird not far from his window, he felt a world away from the version of himself that had come limping home hours earlier, heavy and defeated. Carefully, always careful, he turned to see if Perfuma was awake, and saw her stifling a yawn.

“Hey,” he said, leaning up to kiss her cheek, which ended up landing more on her jaw. Why was his diamond so _tall?_

“Hey,” she crooned, kissing his nose which ended up more like the space between his eyebrows. Again, the tallness thing. 

“How do you feel?”

“Good,” she said, “Better. Ready to face the Horde again. The arm you’re laying on is very asleep, though.”

“The arm I’m laying on is very asleep, too,” Bow said with a chuckle, sitting up and breathing through his teeth as blood flowed back into the arm he’d slept on. Perfuma was in much the same way, flexing her fingers as feeling returned to them.

“I’m going to use the bathroom,” Bow informed her as he stood from the low couch.

“Good idea. I’m going to do my morning breathing exercises, since I just woke up and all. I’ll head that way after. Meet you back in the war room?”

“Sounds good. What time is it?”

Perfuma grew a sunflower from her palm, and examined the way it faced.

“We were asleep for about four hours, maybe a little less.”

“Well, that’s about perfect then,” Bow said, rolling his wrist this way and that. “See you in there.”

Perfuma hummed at him, and he smiled. He exited the room, back into the light, the noise, the motion of the Bright Moon castle, and felt ready to take it all on.

**Author's Note:**

> Me, in EVERY fandom: where are the moirails
> 
> Comments/Concrit welcome!! I love to hear your thoughts! <3


End file.
